We have all heard about the brouhaha that typically surrounds the launch of a new iPhone; the expectant queues that typically form outside Apple stores before sales start. This is something that has always mystified Android users who have wondered why Apple devotees are so grateful for being made to pay extra for a product that offers most of the same user experiences as Android devices but with marked lack of choice. Apple has now announced that iPhone sales are set to fall for the first time. Apple chief executive Tim Cook has announced that iPhone sales are going to decline this first quarter of 2016.
End of an era?
Apple Logo on a Building
Apple hastens to assure us that the projected fall in iPhone sales is not the end of an era. This is likely to happen because the sales had peaked in the last quarter; so in a sense sales could go no place other than down. When Apple finally gave in to the fact that a lot of people just found the standard iPhone screen size too small and came out with the large screen phones, the 6S Plus last year, the company saw record sales.
That was always going to be difficult to match up to, leave alone exceed. So since iPhone sales had peaked, the company would now have to find new sources of growth. The projected decline in sales has also caused Apple shares to fall about 20% since last year.
Why are sales slowing down?
Apple Top Line Pricing
The sluggish global economy is being cited as one of the factors driving down Apple sales. Apple smartphones are among the most expensive in the world and there are no low priced alternatives to choose from unless buyers settle for older phones launched years before. Other smartphones manufacturers have their flagship phones but also offer buyers more affordable but high performance models packed with excellent features with current technology; something Apple never bothered to do.
A new iPhone 6S can cost between Rs 47,000/- for the 15 GB phone and about Rs 67,000/- for the 128 GB. A flagship Samsung device such as the S6, featuring the stylish Edge feature and 128 GB memory costs about Rs 41,000/-. There are some really nifty android smartphones available right now for less than Rs 10,000/-.
When you look at these numbers, the sneaking suspicion does arise; that Apple may just have been taking everyone for a bit of a ride; offering an elitist; necessarily exclusivist product with an abysmal absence of options at astronomical prices. Maybe people have realised that they are paying huge amounts of extra money for very little extra in terms of performance and user experience.
It’s really clever how Apple manages to make people pay a lot extra for not being able to connect to other devices via Bluetooth, not being able to expand their memory, not being able to charge their phones with a universal charger, not having a removable battery, not being water resistant, not having the option of a second sim… and still manages to make users feel grateful.
Author: Reena Daruwalla
